Refreshingly Familiar Lovers Unite blends French New Wave and Los Angeles chic for Bar Etoile By Kelly Pau • May 12, 2025 • Interiors, West (Kort Havens) SHARE Warm and cool tones inform the wine bar and French restaurant Bar Etoile from Jill Bernheimer of popular natural wine shop Domaine LA, chef Travis Hayden, and Julian Kurland. Lovers Unite, a design and architecture studio led by Karen Spector and Alan Koch, approached the space by blending elements of French New Wave and the spirit of the city it’s located in, Los Angeles. Other contrasting elements, namely tone and temporality, result in an interior that is comfortingly familiar yet refreshingly new. The space can be thought of in three parts: the bar at the center of the space and the two halves on either side of it. The sides, while similar, are not identical. On one half of the Melrose Hill space, the bistro-like outpost is clad in dark brown wood panels set against rounded blue banquettes. Lovers Unite continues the paneling around the back of the space toward the wine coolers with fridges framed in blue. The outward-facing seating and moody lighting are chic but not too fussy, like a fictitious restaurant in a Godard film. Read more about the restaurant on aninteriormag.com. Los AngelesRestaurants